more french class or ode to eating your words

‘Tis the end of the semester & I am studying  for my French final.  I actually sound fairly decent at least in my own head as I pronounce my conjugation of the verb “to do” (faire) while Billie Holiday sings to me from the bedroom clock radio permanently tuned to NPR.  When I break from my studies I have fun practicing my French voice on my husband by announcing what he is doing (properly conjugating, of course) as I pass him on the way to the kitchen or la salle de bain (sounds better than bathroom, doesn’t it).

A major essence of French pronounciation I’ve rathered enjoyed adjusting to is the way one literally eats the ends of practically every word.  98% of the time the last letter of every word is silent whether it ends in a consonant or vowel making the second to last letter the one you hear.  It’s quite weird and makes for a lot of memorization, but in my own oddball way, I’ve enjoyed this mild torture to my brain.  It’s a new and different mental exercise.  Far out, homme…

~ by dirtworshipper on December 12, 2007.